As I mentioned in my previous post, Sunday was one great day of skiing. Although it’s not quite Spring, it very well could have been with temperatures in the 50s all day, clear skies and very few people on the mountain. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats skiing straight onto the chair lift without waiting in line.
I’m very grateful Jonathan skiis and enjoys the sport as much as I do (okay, wayyyyyy more than I do) because it allows us the opportunity to spend all day together, outside, encouraging each other, competing, and simply having fun. Plus, you get so much great talking time on the chair lifts! Jonathan is a great sport too– he lets me sleep in the car on the way up, knows when to stop and wait for me (not that I EVER stop. I’m so hardcore I only rest maybe twice a day. kidding) and he understands my need for a morning Snickers bar stop and afternoon caramel apple cider at Starbucks. One of our conversations on the chair lift went like this:
Me: I am so glad you ski. If you didn’t ski, I wonder if we’d have gotten married?
Jonathan: Would you have not married me if I didn’t ski?
Me: Well, it wouldn’t have been a complete deal breaker, but it was definitely a selling point. Besides, I bet you wouldn’t have married me if I didn’t ski.
Jonathan: Yes I would have.
Me: Really? No way. Remember, we fell in love on that freshman ski trip to Big Bear.
Jonathan: Um, you snowboarded that trip and were terrible. I think you spent the whole day on your butt.
Me: Oh. Yeah. You’re right.
Jonathan: Yeah, good thing you went back to skiing. You were awful.
Which brings me to my next point, and true reason for this post: Skiing is one of those things my parents made me do for which I am very, very grateful. There are actually many things my parents forced me to try as a kid. There were a few big duds: sailing lessons, soccer, softball & basketball were the worst of the worst. (Meaning, I generally cried hysterically and hated my life during those seasons. The athletic gene sorta skipped over me and straight into my brother’s body. I do not regret quitting any of those sports.) Then they tried me in swim team, skiing, writing classes and volleyball. With these, I had much better luck. I won’t say the activites didn’t have their painful moments but I feel a better person for the lesson they’ve taught me.
While on the mountain yesterday, I thought back to a few of the stand-out ski moments of my life including the time my dad took me on an extremely hard run and I took my skis off and walked down. Then, there was the time I forgot to get off the chair lift and had to me lifted down while a huge crowd (and my entire ski school class) gathered to watch. Yes, the tough days skiing have definitely been some of my finer moments. But, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Jonathan if it’d hadn’t been for their pushing.
So, thanks Mom & Dad for teaching me to ski, being patient all those times I took my sweet time getting down the hill, and knowing when to make me try something new. Days like yesterday would never have happened if it wasn’t for you.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the conversation while going up the chair lift. that is definitely a convo i would have with my dear husband as well.
Things my parents made me try that did not work out: gymnastics (pretty obvious by my size why that wasn’t a success), softball, club basketball, and the church choir (yeah, can you imagine?) Luckily they didn’t even think about making me try out dance- that would have been incredibly traumatic. Yet another reason I wish we were friends growing up- we could have laughed with each other about our failures together. I totally agree with you though about being so appreciative that my parents made me try so many different things and pushed me when I wanted to stay in the comfort zone.
I love that you took off your skiis and walked down the hill! My friend tricked me once and took me on a super hard hill and I made her find a different route down the mountain that was like a 3 hour detour.
I also love that Jonathan fell in love with you even though you sucked at snowboarding:)
Well done on your adventures outside of your comfort zone…you pull it off well. Along those same lines, I would love for you to be on my basketball team. I would laugh at you behind your back for sure!
Warning: I posted a blog about snowboarding too…NOT copying you, I just needed to get a few things off my chest. Alright, I am off to research the origin of that saying…
What about your tap dancing? It must not have lasted long, I think you only have one move, but that is such a good tap/jazz move, it really accentuates your long, beautiful feet.